Senators Reportedly Targeting Defense In Offseason
One of the primary offseason objectives of the Ottawa Senators’ hockey operations department will be to secure the services of “a big defenceman who can play big minutes,” Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported last week.
Garrioch had previously reported that the Senators considered making a play for St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko at the trade deadline, and he could be a possibility if he would consider waiving his no-move clause for Ottawa.
The Blues agreed to a deal with the Buffalo Sabres for Parayko near the deadline, but Parayko declined to waive his no-move clause to head to Western New York. Garrioch also noted that the Senators “pushed hard” to acquire Philadelphia Flyers veteran Rasmus Ristolainen at the deadline but couldn’t finalize a deal. Like Parayko, Ristolainen could remain an option for the summer but the Flyers may also not have much interest in subtracting such an important piece from their roster after making a run to the second round of the playoffs this spring.
As the Senators’ reported targets before the deadline indicated, the team’s clear need for a defenseman is specifically for a right-shot blueliner. The team’s top two defensemen, Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, both play on the left side. 
Chabot is under contract at an $8MM AAV for the next two seasons, while Sanderson is signed at $8.05MM AAV through 2029-30. They have been the anchors of Ottawa’s defense, and veteran Artem Zub, who is under contract through next year at $4.6MM is the team’s top right-shot blueliner.
Adding one more right-handed defenseman to the mix would give Ottawa an enviable set of top-four defensemen.
Of course, the hope to add a big, minutes-eating right-shot defenseman isn’t something unique to the Senators. Players who check those boxes are often among the most coveted assets in the NHL.
What is most interesting about the Senators’ aggressive pursuit of such a blueliner at the trade deadline is what it says about how they view their internal options for the role. Ottawa invested the No. 7 overall pick at the 2024 draft in a dynamic right-shot blueliner, Carter Yakemchuk. Now 20, he could be close to NHL-ready after a solid debut professional season. In addition, Ottawa has 25-year-old Jordan Spence, who enjoyed a strong 31-point debut season with the Senators. He is set to become a restricted free agent, but remains club property for the time being.
On paper, it might make sense for the Senators to simply stand pat, and trust in that duo of internal options alongside Zub to make up the right side of their defense. But after getting pushed around in a first-round series against the Hurricanes, Ottawa appears set to redouble their efforts to acquire a top-four defenseman of a specific mold, one that is traditionally viewed to be best-suited for the rigors of playoff hockey.
While the upcoming free agent class appears deepest at the position of right-shot defensemen, there are some caveats. Rasmus Andersson appears likely to re-sign in Vegas while Darren Raddysh and John Carlson aren’t quite built in the same mold as Parayko and Ristolainen. While both players would certainly represent an upgrade over Spence, they may not be enough of a stylistic departure for the Senators. Additionally, the league-wide interest each is expected to receive could remove them as an option for Ottawa, as the market has traditionally struggled to attract the league’s very best free agents.
The best fit for the Senators could be veteran Jacob Trouba, who has had a bounce-back stint with the Anaheim Ducks after a difficult end to his time as captain of the New York Rangers. It remains to be seen if Trouba will end up hitting the open market, or if he even would have interest signing with the Senators. But of all of the upcoming free agents, he is the one most stylistically comparable to the defenders Ottawa reportedly attempted to acquire at the deadline. After Trouba, the next-best fit might be Connor Murphy of the Edmonton Oilers, a 6’4″ rearguard who is able to weather substantial time on the penalty kill.
Photos courtesy of Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images
Flyers Sign Aleksei Kolosov To One-Year Contract Extension
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goaltender Aleksei Kolosov to a one-year contract extension, the team announced today. The deal carries an $850K AAV, though it is unclear at this time whether the extension is of a one-way or two-way structure.
Kolosov’s three-year entry level contract, a deal he signed in July 2023, was set to expire next month. He was slated to become an RFA with arbitration rights, assuming he had received a qualifying offer from the club.
Now, Philadelphia has avoided the (admittedly unlikely) prospect of Kolosov heading to arbitration, while Kolosov has secured his place in the Flyers organization for another season.
A 2021 third-round pick, Kolosov’s time with the Flyers organization has been somewhat uneven. His first of three years on his entry-level deal was spent on loan in the KHL, where he got to play for his hometown team, Dinamo Minsk.
Kolosov’s final two campaigns in the KHL were spent as the No. 1 goalie in Minsk. In 2023-24, he went 22-21-3 with a .907 save percentage in 47 games played. Seeing as Kolosov was already an experienced KHL starter, there was some hope that he would be able to hit the ground running in North America.
That did not happen. He began the 2024-25 season in a “standoff” with Flyers management. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski wrote at the time that Kolosov failed to report to Flyers rookie camp and had “asked the Flyers to loan him back to Dinamo Minsk of Russia’s KHL.” There were conflicting reports in prior months that Kolosov’s adjustment to North America had proven challenging. Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis cited an AHL source saying that Kolosov “felt isolated” living in a hotel by himself and without the ability to speak much English.
Amid the reported standoff, GM Danny Briere said of Kolosov that it was “time for him to step up and respect the contract” he signed. A little over a week later, the Flyers and Kolosov’s camp found a solution. Kolosov stayed in North America for 2024-25, and did the same for 2025-26. In October of 2024 Kolosov’s agent, Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, told Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer that “all previous concerns” related to his client had “been thoroughly addressed and are now resolved.”
Although that proved to be the end of the off-ice controversy surrounding Kolosov, his on-ice play did not immediately pay dividends for the Flyers. He got into 17 NHL games for the team but struggled to the tune of an .867 save percentage. In 12 AHL games, Kolosov went 5-6-1 with an .884 save percentage.
This past season, Kolosov settled in as Philadelphia’s organizational No. 3 goalie. While his NHL struggles persisted, (.830 save percentage across four games of action) Kolosov showed improvement in the AHL, posting an .895 save percentage in 38 games played. Though he has struggled in North America, his improvement this past season has kept him on the board as one of the Flyers’ better prospects. He recently ranked No. 15 in the team’s system by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler.
The goal for Kolosov on this one-year extension will, undoubtedly, be to push for more NHL time. The Flyers have Dan Vladar entrenched as their No. 1 goalie, but their backup spot could open if the team chooses not to qualify or extend Samuel Ersson. Ersson’s 2025-26 season was a struggle, though he did improve over the Olympic break. The Flyers will most likely sign a goalie to be the front-runner for the backup job, but with this extension, Kolosov should get the chance to at least push whoever the Flyers sign for that NHL spot behind Vladar.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
AHL Notes: Griffith, Pietroniro, Miller
Veteran AHL scorer Seth Griffith signed a two-year AHL contract extension with the Bakersfield Condors, affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. In a statement, Griffith called Bakersfield “a special place to play” and expressed excitement about being able to stay with the club an additional two years. The 33-year-old veteran has served as captain of the Condors for the last two seasons, and has played for the club since the 2020-21 season.
While the financial terms of AHL contracts are not publicly disclosed, one would have to imagine that Griffith’s deal in Bakersfield doesn’t come too cheap. He’s a multi-time AHL All-Star who has twice led the league in assists, as recently as 2024-25. That year, he scored 21 goals and 72 points in 65 games, and this past campaign had 18 goals and 67 points in 71 games. A veteran of 80 NHL games, Griffith hasn’t appeared at the game’s highest level since 2021-22, but remains one of the AHL’s most productive and reliable scorers.
Other notes from the AHL:
- Fresh off of a breakout AHL campaign, defenseman Matteo Pietroniro signed a two-year AHL contract extension with the Syracuse Crunch. It’s been a long road to this point of stability for the 27-year-old defenseman. A former USHL captain, Pietroniro wasn’t able to play U.S. college hockey as the result of since-changed rules preventing CHL players from playing NCAA hockey. Instead of go the USports route, Pietroniro took the unconventional step of signing in the Finnish Liiga after his final USHL campaign. He played 2019-20 for the Lahti Pelicans before spending 2020-21 with HC Bolzano in Italy. He joined the North American pro ranks in 2021-22, beginning in the ECHL before breaking into the AHL on a full-time basis as a reserve defenseman. In 2025-26, Pietroniro took a massive step forward in his career, proving himself as a legitimate top-four AHL defenseman with 31 points in 65 games. His reward for those efforts? A multi-year extension.
- The Crunch also signed right-shot defenseman Tommy Miller to a one-year AHL contract extension. The 27-year-old is the former captain of Michigan State University and was a full-time AHLer for the Toronto Marlies from 2022-23 through 2024-25. Last summer, he signed with Syracuse, who would go on to utilize Miller as a third-pairing defenseman with some penalty-killing time. He only managed 10 points in 55 regular-season games but did add three points in four playoff contests.
Transaction Notes: Ritchie, Panocha, Dubinsky
Former NHL forward Brett Ritchie has signed a contract for the 2026-27 season with Vlci Zilina, a club in the Slovakian Extraliga. The 32-year-old is a veteran of nearly 400 NHL games, playing in the league from 2014-15 through 2022-23. Ritchie last appeared in the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes, arriving there in a mid-season trade from the Calgary Flames. It was in that deal that Ritchie was actually traded for his brother, Nick Ritchie.
Since playing out 2022-23 with the Coyotes, Ritchie has continued his professional career in Europe. As most veteran NHLers who elect to try their hand in Europe do, Ritchie began in one of the continent’s top leagues: the KHL. He signed with Dynamo Minsk, but played in just 14 total games and scored just three points. The following year, he signed in Slovakia, but ended up splitting 2024-25 between that league and the German DEL. This past season, Ritchie began the year in Austria before transferring to Sheffield in the British EIHL, where he scored 12 goals and 22 points in 24 games.
Other notes on player movement from around the hockey world:
- Buffalo Sabres prospect Norwin Panocha has changed clubs, signing with the DEL’s Iserlohn Roosters. The 6’2″ defenseman was a seventh-round pick by Buffalo at the 2023 draft, selected out of Eisbären Berlin’s junior ranks. Panocha spent 2023-24 and 2024-25 split between three North American junior leagues, namely the QMJHL, WHL, and USHL. He split this past season between the DEL with Berlin and second-division DEL2 on loan to Lausitzer Füchse. Per PuckPedia, the Sabres hold the exclusive rights to sign Panocha through June 1 of next year, but it appears unlikely at this stage that he’ll earn an entry-level deal.
- The Laval Rocket announced yesterday that defenseman Aiden Dubinsky has been signed to a one-year AHL contract for next season. Dubinsky was playing on a tryout deal with the Rocket before their season ended at the hands of the Toronto Marlies in the AHL playoffs. The Rocket signed Dubinsky, 22, out of the University of Wisconsin. He skated in 39 games for the Badgers this past season, scoring six points.
East Notes: Flyers, Luukkonen, Golcic
The Philadelphia Flyers issued a slate of injury updates today, clarifying what ten of their skaters were battling through or otherwise managing while the season drew to a close. In the NHL, it is customary for players and teams to disclose injuries but not with complete specificity. The media might learn a player is out with a lower-body injury, rather than, specifically a sprained ankle, for example. When a season ends, more specific detail is often provided on injuries, and that’s exactly what the Flyers have done today.
Some of the Flyers’ disclosures are already things that have been made public – namely the ones suffered by Owen Tippett, Christian Dvorak, and Cam York. But some are new developments. Defenseman Emil Andrae was previously considered a healthy scratch when he exited the team’s playoff lineup, but the Flyers revealed today that the blueliner suffered a fractured wrist that will require surgery. The injury that knocked Noah Cates out of the second-round series was a fractured foot, but that won’t require surgery according to the team. Additionally, other Flyers were revealed to be playing through injury, including Travis Konecny (fractured rib; nasal fracture,) Garnet Hathaway (fractured fibula,) Trevor Zegras (elbow ligament sprain,) and Alex Bump (MCL sprain.)
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- The Buffalo Sabres appear to be sticking with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as their starting netminder for tonight’s crucial game five against the Montreal Canadiens, The Buffalo News’ Rachel Lenzi reported from morning skate today. The Sabres made the decision to swap Alex Lyon for Luukkonen after going down two games to one in Montreal, and Luukkonen rewarded them with a brilliant performance that allowed the team to return to Western New York with a tied series. Luukkonen actually began the postseason as Buffalo’s No. 1 but lost the role after two games in the first round against the Boston Bruins.
- Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Jan Goličič announced on social media that he has committed to play college hockey at Quinnipiac University. The Lightning selected Goličič, 19, in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft. A big 6’5″, 209-pound left-shot defenseman, Goličič actually developed in the junior leagues of Austria before heading to the QMJHL for his draft year. He’s spent the last three campaigns in the QMJHL, and scored 44 points in 57 games this past season. Goličič is a top prospect for the Slovenian national team. He represented his country at the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championships, and was named to the roster for this year’s tournament as well. As indicated by this article from PuckPedia, it appears Goličič’s decision to make a college commitment before June 1 will extend Tampa Bay’s exclusive rights to sign him, which will now follow the more extended timeline associated with college prospects.
Edmonton Oilers Fire Kris Knoblauch
The Edmonton Oilers have fired head coach Kris Knoblauch, per an official announcement. The news was first reported by TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. Assistant coach Mark Stuart has also been relieved of his duties.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman issued the following statement regarding the decision:
Following a thorough review of this past season, we believe these changes are needed. We are grateful for the contributions both Kris and Mark have made to our organization and we wish them the best moving forward.
A three-year contract extension signed by Knoblauch has yet to begin, meaning the coach is set to be paid by the Oilers through the 2028-29 season.
This past campaign was Knoblauch’s third behind the bench in Edmonton. He was hired away from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack early in the 2023-24 season, after Edmonton fired former coach Jay Woodcroft amid a disastrous start to the season. 
Knoblauch, who was Connor McDavid‘s head coach in the OHL and a WHL and OHL championship-winning bench boss, immediately turned the Oilers around. Knoblauch led Edmonton to a 46-18-5 record in the 69 games he coached, and the Oilers went to the Stanley Cup Final.
In the 2024 Final, Knoblauch’s Oilers stormed back from a 3-0 series deficit to the Florida Panthers, nearly accomplishing one of the most stunning championship victories in the history of the sport – but they ended up falling in a nail-biter seventh game.
The following season, Knoblauch’s Oilers, who went 48-29-5, made it to another Stanley Cup Final, but once again lost to the Panthers, this time in six games.
This past season, Knoblauch and the Oilers took a decided step back. Bogged down by roster issues, most pressingly in goal, the Oilers struggled to find their identity all season. They went 41-30-11 and lost in the first round to a young, upstart Anaheim Ducks team. After the loss, McDavid was critical of the Oilers, saying they were “an average team all year.”
The signs that Edmonton would eventually make this decision emerged a few days ago, when reports indicated that the Oilers had requested permission to speak with former Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy. Cassidy remains under contract with the Golden Knights despite being fired during the season. While requests for permission to speak with fired coaches are usually a formality, the Golden Knights, according to reports, have withheld permission to speak with Cassidy. It is unclear if that has changed or will change.
But the reasons for the Oilers’ interest in Cassidy are clear: he is generally considered the most accomplished coach without a job at the moment, and this is a hire the Oilers can’t afford to get wrong. McDavid signed a two-year contract extension this season, one that would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency after the 2027-28 season. The 29-year-old’s extension officially put the Oilers on the clock – they have to prove to McDavid that he can still win a Stanley Cup in Edmonton. In other words, they have to earn his continued loyalty.
Cassidy, a Stanley Cup champion with Vegas in 2023, would give the Oilers a demanding coach who is still widely considered to be among the league’s best. But even if Edmonton doesn’t end up hiring the former Golden Knights, Boston Bruins, and Washington Capitals head coach, they still have now guaranteed they’ll be making a change behind the bench.
The list of other available veteran coaches doesn’t inspire as much confidence – especially after the New York Islanders took Peter DeBoer off the board late in the regular season – but it would still be a major surprise to see Edmonton turn to another first-time NHL head coach after parting ways with Knoblauch.
As for Knoblauch himself, one would have to imagine he will draw some league-wide interest in his services. The 47-year-old doesn’t have a Stanley Cup ring, but has been able to bring his teams as close as a team can possibly get without winning it all. His contract extension means Knoblauch doesn’t have to rush into his next gig, but it’ll be interesting to see if he’s considered for the vacancy of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, or potentially even in Vegas if current coach John Tortorella decides not to return for a full campaign.
Photos courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Team Canada Notes: Crosby, Barzal, Mercer
Sidney Crosby will join Team Canada at the IIHF Men’s World Championship tournament, Hockey Canada announced today. Crosby’s decision marks the second consecutive season in which the Penguins’ captain has decided to head to IIHF Worlds. Crosby scored 12 points in eight games at last year’s edition of the tournament, although Canada was upset in the quarterfinals by Denmark. One of the game’s greatest players of all time, Crosby has already represented Canada on numerous occasions. He’s a member of the Triple Gold Club, meaning he has won a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal, and IIHF World Championship.
Crosby joins a Canada roster that is already looking like the strongest in the tournament by a wide margin. The Canadians are set to be captained by 2024 No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini. It is unclear if Celebrini will hand over the captaincy to Crosby, who has served as captain for Canada every time he’s represented them over the past decade. If nothing else, it would be quite the sight to see Celebrini, 19, serving as Crosby’s captain. In any case, the announcement is a good sign for Crosby’s health. He briefly left the bench during game five of the Penguins’ first-round loss to the Flyers to get his knee checked, but it appears that he has not suffered an injury of any sort.
Other notes from Hockey Canada:
- While Canada has added one of the game’s top forwards in Crosby, they’ve also lost another premier NHL forward: Mathew Barzal. The New York Islanders star will miss IIHF Worlds as what Hockey Canada describes as “a precaution” due to a “minor, pre-existing injury.” Barzal, who scored 19 goals and 72 points this past season, has played at two prior IIHF Worlds tournaments. He scored eight points in nine games during the 2022 tournament, and had seven points in 10 games at the 2018 championship. He won a silver medal for Canada in 2022 but is still waiting on his first gold.
- Team Canada also added another forward from the Metropolitan Division today: Dawson Mercer of the New Jersey Devils. Like Barzal, Mercer has also represented Canada at IIHF Worlds on two occasions: first in 2022, and again in 2024. Mercer won a silver medal with Barzal in 2022 and has scored nine points in 19 career games at the World Championships. The 24-year-old can play both center and on the wing, and scored 20 goals and 42 points for New Jersey this past season.
Wild Notes: Zuccarello, Brodin, Eriksson Ek
Although veteran forward Mats Zuccarello is 38 years old and his contract is expiring, he is not looking to conclude his NHL career. Zuccarello indicated to The Athletic’s Joe Smith that he would like to play next season and beyond, saying “I feel like I have some more years left in me. But it’s up to contracts and everything like that. It’s not up to me always. So let’s just take this series, hopefully (the) next one, and see how far we go here before we start thinking about that.”
Zuccarello, 38, could play in his 1,000th NHL game if he ends up returning for next season. He hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down on the ice. In 2025-26, he scored 15 goals and 54 points in 59 regular-season games. He’s managed two goals and nine points in seven playoff contests. Zuccarello has played the best hockey of his career since superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov arrived in Minnesota, regularly flirting with point-per-game levels of production. He made $4.125MM on his last contract and he’s earned every right to stay at that level – if not exceed it – on his next deal.
Other notes from the State of Hockey:
- Injured Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin will not travel with the team to Colorado for their must-win game five against the Avalanche, Michael Russo of The Athletic reported today. Brodin, 32, suffered a lower-body injury in game five of the team’s first round series against the Dallas Stars. He has not played since. His regular role as Minnesota’s second-pair left-shot defenseman has been taken up by 23-year-old Daemon Hunt, and while Hunt has some admirable qualities to his game, he is a clear downgrade from the 915-game NHL veteran.
- The Wild will also be without injured center Joel Eriksson Ek for game five against the Avalanche, meaning the Wild will need to fight to keep their season alive without their best overall center. Eriksson Ek suffered a lower-body injury and has not played since the series against the Stars. The 29-year-old shutdown pivot scored 51 points in the regular season and five points in six games against Dallas. Eriksson Ek’s qualities as a matchup center would be hugely valuable for the Wild as they try to shut down Nathan MacKinnon and the rest of the Avalanche’s firepower. They’ll have to try to extend their season without him as Eriksson Ek remains injured.
Flyers Notes: Michkov, Martone, Abols
Philadelphia Flyers star winger Matvei Michkov had a trying sophomore season, starting from when he reportedly arrived at training camp out of shape, (per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic) to when he got healthy scratched during the playoffs. The 21-year-old has been viewed as a potential future franchise player since the Flyers selected him No. 7 overall at the 2023 draft, but the 2025-26 campaign raised questions about his overall trajectory. Michkov wasn’t able to build on a successful rookie campaign under former head coach John Tortorella, one that saw him score 26 goals and 63 points. His fit with new head coach Rick Tocchet was questioned at times, with some critics taking aim at Tocchet’s usage of the winger. Michkov averaged just 14:50 time on ice per game, ranking No. 9 among Flyers forwards with double-digit games played.
In his end-of-season media availability today, Michkov said he wants to hit the ground running next season and replicate the form he showed after the Olympic break. In 26 games following that break, he scored seven goals and 22 points while the Flyers went 18-7-1 and secured a playoff spot. The key to doing that will be a productive summer, avoiding having to work his way into peak shape during the season. Michkov said, per team reporter Bill Meltzer, that he will meet with GM Danny Briere later this week to discuss his offseason plan in greater detail.
Other notes from Philadelphia:
- The other star young forward in Philadelphia, Porter Martone, will join Team Canada at the IIHF Men’s World Championships in Switzerland, Hockey Canada announced today. This will be Martone’s second consecutive campaign playing for Canada at Worlds, as the 2025 No. 6 overall pick got into two games for the country’s senior team last season. This season, Martone has been a star scorer in college hockey for Michigan State, a captain for Team Canada at the World Juniors, and a stellar rookie winger for a Flyers team that made a run to the playoffs and upset their arch-rivals in the first round. It’s been quite the campaign for the 19-year-old winger, and he’ll now look to conclude it with a world championship.
- Flyers fourth-line center Rodrigo Abols shared some more detail today on the lower-body injury that ended his season. Per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports, Abols said he had to have surgery as a result of the injury, as there was quite a bit of damage, including a broken fibula. He also added that his recovery is now ahead of schedule. Abols, 30, was a nice find for the Flyers’ scouting staff, signing as a 28-year-old unrestricted free agent from the SHL. He was a full-time NHL-er this season, though his injury limited him to playing in just 47 games.
NHL Announces General Manager Of The Year Finalists
The Wild’s Bill Guerin, the Avalanche’s Chris MacFarland, and the Ducks’ Pat Verbeek are the three finalists for this year’s Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the league announced today.
The award is presented annually “to the general manager who best excelled at his role during the regular season.” It is voted on by the League’s general managers and, per the league, “a panel of NHL executives and print and broadcast media” after the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs concludes.
This is the first time all three names have surfaced as finalists for the award. Of the three, Guerin is the longest-tenured lead executive. He was hired in 2019 to lead the Wild, and has guided the team to the playoffs in five of his seven campaigns in charge of the team. His Wild went 46-24-12 this season, good for third place in the Western Conference.
Guerin pulled off what most would likely consider this past season’s boldest transaction, putting together a package of players, prospects, and draft picks strong enough to land Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. The move gave the Wild one of the game’s best players and arguably the game’s top defenseman.
He also secured the signature of franchise face Kirill Kaprizov on a massive contract extension, ensuring his team’s centerpiece player would not be departing in free agency. Kaprizov’s signing and the trade for Hughes represent two of the most consequential transactions in franchise history.
While Minnesota were pushed to the brink of elimination by the Avalanche last night, their loss should not diminish what Guerin accomplished this season – and that’s not even including his work constructing America’s roster for the Winter Olympics in Italy, work that resulted in a gold medal. He’s built the Wild into one of the NHL’s strongest teams, and his status as a finalist is a reflection of the strength of his body of work in 2025-26.
Verbeek, who like Guerin is a former longtime NHLer, has been running the Ducks’ hockey operations since February 2022. As GM in Anaheim, Verbeek has engineered a youth movement that is the envy of the NHL, securing high-end young pieces such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckett Sennecke.
But Verbeek hasn’t just stockpiled young talent. It’s his work to supplement his burgeoning young core with strong veteran contributors that has likely landed him as a finalist – and what has helped propel Anaheim to the second round of the playoffs.
Many rebuilding teams end up playing as many young players as possible, and the quality of the team overall suffers. The Ducks have taken a different approach, fusing a high number of young players with significant investments in veteran leaders. The result has been strong player development outcomes across the board, and the elevation of the Ducks into a winning, playoff-caliber team.
Verbeek signed Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn as free agents, and landed Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, and most recently John Carlson via trade. Those additions, combined with the offseason hire of three-time Stanley Cup champion head coach Joel Quenneville, have supercharged the Ducks’ rebuild and pushed them back to contention at a quick pace.
Of the three finalists, MacFarland has been GM for the shortest period of time, though his tenure in Colorado overall actually stretches back more than a decade. Joe Sakic’s longtime assistant GM took the reins in 2022, and has since helped turn the Avalanche into a Presidents’ Trophy winner.
MacFarland’s bold decision to move on from star forward Mikko Rantanen, who was inching closer to unrestricted free agency, appears to have paid off. His direct replacement Martin Necas had an 100-point season and is now signed through 2033-34. MacFarland was also able to retain veteran pivot Brock Nelson, who ended up a Selke Trophy finalist in his first full campaign in Denver.
MacFarland has been able to find diamonds in the rough, such as Sam Malinski and Parker Kelly to support a contending team with fewer available draft picks thanks to trades designed to secure veteran talent.
The work of MacFarland and his staff has Colorado in a position to potentially win its second Stanley Cup of the 2020s, and that’s why he’s a finalist for GM of the year.
Photos courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images